The River of Time
by cojack
Summary: C/7. Multiple Chakotays discuss their divergent timelines. I wrote this to try and reconcile in my mind the timeline of the new Star Trek movies as compared to the old TV series and movies. So, as all fan fiction writers know, they can both exist, along with all our musings, in alternative universes.


DISCLAIMER: It's Paramount's galaxy.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: C/7. Set in post-Endgame universe similar to that where TEYA's "Aurora," "Once More to the Journey," and "One is for Sorrow" (~3 years earlier than in TEYA's story) take place. About one month following the birth of Chakotay and Seven's daughter. "Leap of Faith" fanfiction in same universe. References to ST:VOY episodes The Caretaker II, Resolutions, Scorpion II, Night, Unforgettable, Message in a Bottle, Relativity, Pathfinder, Workforce II, Endgame, and ST:TOS episode City on the Edge of Forever.

I wrote this to try and reconcile in my mind the timeline of the new Star Trek movies as compared to the old TV series and movies. So, as all fan fiction writers know, they can both exist, along with all our musings, in alternative universes.

#

THE RIVER OF TIME

Stardate 57817.1

#

Chakotay awoke from a dreamless sleep and immediately knew something was terribly wrong. Even before opening his eyes, he sensed that Seven was not beside him, and indeed the whole feel of the room around him was different. He sat up quickly and looked for the bassinet by the side of his bed, but his newborn daughter was not there either. He realized with a jolt that he was no longer in his house, but rather sitting on a thinly mattressed slab about a half meter off the floor. The room was circular and dimly lit. In fact, the outer wall was hard to distinguish, almost appearing out of focus. In the interior of the room were six other identical slabs, forming spokes to a heptagonal center. Each slab had an occupant.

"Who are you?" the figure two slabs to the right whispered. The voice sounded vaguely familiar. He was still lying down, as if asleep. About him the others appeared to be sleeping as well.

"Captain Chakotay of Starfleet in the United Federation of Planets," he replied, also in a whisper. "Who are you?"

The figure didn't reply, but rather sat up and leaned closer. In the dim light and with his face in shadow, it was hard to see his features clearly, but he appeared to be wearing a Starfleet uniform of an older style, similar to what he had worn on _Voyager_ for seven years, and the pips on his uniform were clear enough and indicated he held the rank of commander. He then realized he was himself wearing his own uniform, and felt the four pips on the collar. He had only recently accepted a commission as captain of the USS _Sacagawea_. It was odd to be in uniform. When he had gone to bed the night before, he of course was not.

The figure to his right slipped silently off his slab and made his way to the foot of Chakotay's slab. "That's impossible for I'm Commander Chakotay." Commander Chakotay's eyes narrowed as he came close enough to clearly see. Both of them looked nearly identical as they each got a good look at the other.

"Are you from the future?" Commander Chakotay finally said, registering his companion's rank for the first time. "What stardate is it?"

"Fifty-seven-eight-seventeen point one," Captain Chakotay replied.

Commander Chakotay looked confused. "That's the present. That's today."

"You appear to still be first officer aboard _Voyager_. Are you still in the Delta quadrant?" Captain Chakotay inquired.

"Where else would we be? We're 18,000 light years from home." Commander Chakotay seemed to turn something over in his mind. "Two different timelines perhaps?" he suggested. "In your timeline, is Captain Janeway dead and you have assumed command of _Voyager_?"

"No. Admiral Janeway is alive and well. We made it back to Earth nearly two years ago. _Voyager_ has a new crew and mission and her former crew are now scattered about the quadrant."

Commander Chakotay was stunned. "How did you get back?"

Captain Chakotay hesitated. The whole incident involved a temporal incursion and had been immediately classified by Starfleet Command. Could this be some sort of ruse to extract classified information from him? "We found a Borg transwarp conduit and took it all the way home," he finally said. That was essentially true and what was publicly released, but did not divulge the classified aspects of that final mission – particularly the involvement of the Admiral Janeway from the future. He wondered again why his timeline had been allowed to continue given that blatant violation of the temporal prime directive. Some believed there was only one true timeline, with the other timelines only existing virtually, sometimes visible, sometimes even providing memories and alternative histories to particular individuals, but not permanent in space-time. Others believed there were an infinite number of timelines that diverged from each other at each moment of linear time. A cosmos of infinite possibilities. Captain Chakotay wasn't comfortable with this notion. He felt that certain things were 'meant to be,' and that the essence of what made him was unique. Infinite timelines implied that anything and everything was possible. He concluded in his brief analysis that this must either be some sort of dream, or an externally induced hallucination by persons unknown and for reasons unknown. The former seemed most likely, but he had to guard against the latter.

"So now its captain, is it?" Commander Chakotay asked. "How are things in the alpha quadrant?" He seemed skeptical as well, perhaps thinking along the same lines. If this was a dream, an exposition of his subconscious thoughts, the situation presented an interesting opportunity to examine these thoughts. He glanced briefly at the other slabs, still occupied. Who might be on those? Perhaps others where he could contemplate other paths his life might have taken. He couldn't imagine, however, changing anything in the past that might jeopardize his present – his life now with Seven and his daughter.

"I couldn't imagine life being better than it is for me now," he finally replied, expressing the thoughts he just had. "My wife and I have just had our first child. A daughter."

"Your wife? Seven?"

Captain Chakotay nodded. "And you?"

"Seven and I have been married for a year now. No children yet, and none expected for the time being."

The two turned as they heard a footfall behind them. "Who are you two…" someone began, but stopped as he came closer. He wore an identical uniform as Commander Chakotay, and in appearance, was again nearly identical to the two men who stood before him. "What the hell?"

Captain Chakotay recovered first. "Is it stardate fifty-seven-eight-seventeen for you as well?"

The newly arrived Commander Chakotay hesitated, and then nodded.

"Are you still first officer on _Voyager_?" Captain Chakotay continued.

Again, Commander Chakotay nodded.

"And are you married to Seven?"

Commander Chakotay now looked confused. "I beg your pardon. Is Seven someone's name?"

The other Commander Chakotay answered. "Seven of Nine. That was her Borg designation. We rescued her from the Collective about six years ago. A human, Annika Hansen, who was assimilated at a very young age."

The new Commander Chakotay then nodded in recognition. "Yes, I do remember Seven of Nine. I briefly met the drone when she was our liaison to the Borg. Captain Janeway had formed a temporary alliance, but Seven of Nine was killed along with the other drones on _Voyager_ when I ordered the cargo bay doors opened. They were attempting to take over the ship."

"Killed?" Captain Chakotay gasped. He turned to the other Commander Chakotay, and both looked horrified. Captain Chakotay could tell from the pain in the other's face, which he was sure was mirrored in his own, that the two felt a deep love for Seven. Their Seven, at least, but apparently even the death of Seven in an alternative timeline touched them. But this didn't happen. The real Seven, his Seven, survived and went on to fall in love and marry him. This is only a dream, and the others are from virtual realities.

The new Commander Chakotay seemed unfazed. "Captain Janeway was incapacitated at the time and I was in command. The Borg was breaking our agreement and I had no choice."

Indeed, the other two realized that they both had made the same decision and ordered the same thing to be done. What was it that changed and allowed Seven to survive in their timelines instead of perish? How important that one instant of time had been.

"What happened to the Borg? Species 8472?" Captain Chakotay finally asked.

"We've had very little contact with them in the last six years, and we're thankful for it. Kes, as a parting gift, hurled us a good ways through Borg space and we haven't looked back."

The other two glanced at each other, and then both nodded, confirming that something similar had indeed happened in their timelines as well. Of course, their encounters with the Borg and Species 8472 had not been as limited. Perhaps Species 8472 had so decimated the Borg in the other's timeline, they were now no longer a threat. And once the threat was gone, they returned to fluidic space themselves. On the other hand, perhaps Species 8472 was infiltrating the other quadrants of the Galaxy in that timeline and getting ready for an all out invasion. All sorts of possibilities presented themselves.

"What's going on here?" a fourth Chakotay asked, and then looked to each of the other three in growing alarm. He was not in uniform, but rather in a pair of overalls. His hair was slightly shorter than the other three, but he had the same distinctive tattoo and their identity as alternate versions of himself was undeniable.

"I imagine your name is Chakotay," Captain Chakotay said. "Are you no longer in Starfleet?"

"I am Chakotay, but as for the rest, I don't know what you're talking about," he replied, and then fully seeing the other three Chakotays in uniform added, "I've never been in the military."

Intrigued, Captain Chakotay pressed further. "Are you on Earth then?"

"I'm originally from Earth, but I haven't been back in a long time. Earth is overcrowded and lacks employment opportunities. I left Earth and emigrated to Quarra. I have a good paying job at one of the planetary energy plants. My wife and I are expecting our second child."

"So you are married?"

"Yes. I overheard one of you mention her name earlier. Annika Hansen. She is human, as I am, as I suppose we all are. We met a few years ago while we were both recovering from an outbreak of dysphoria syndrome. In fact, she held a managerial position at the energy plant and was able to get me a job."

Again, the first two Chakotays exchanged a look of understanding. "She is the efficiency monitor?" Captain Chakotay asked.

The other hesitated. How could he possibly know that? Of course, perhaps this was all a dream and so these phantoms were part of his subconscious. Annika has always said he had an active and fertile imagination. Finally, he said with a smile, "yes, and I find I'm much more efficient when she's around."

Captain Chakotay nodded. In this one's timeline, Seven and Inspector Yerid were apparently unsuccessful in unmasking the memory altering conspiracy and freeing the _Voyager_ crew. Indeed, with Chakotay captured, along with Seven and the Inspector, it appears as if their memories were altered further and they now served, quite happily, at the same energy plant where most of the _Voyager_ crew also served.

At this point it was clear the other three were also awake. Each was sitting up on their slab. One was also in uniform, the second in civilian attire, and the third wore the dress of a Maquis officer. Each also had the distinctive tattoo, short black hair and build of Chakotay, undoubtedly from three additional timelines. Captain Chakotay scanned the faces of each. The light in the center of the room must have brightened without him noticing, because he could clearly see all of them. The room was larger than he had first thought. The walls, still only dimly lit, were outside the main illumination. He motioned for them to join the others in the center of the room. He sat down as he would to open his medicine bundle in preparation for a vision quest, and the others followed. "This is quite interesting," he began. "It appears we are all here at the same instant in our respective timelines, but at some point each of us have branched off and the timelines diverged."

"And considering you are all me," interjected the Chakotay in the Maquis uniform, "you are probably all thinking that this is some sort of interesting examination of your subconscious, for we all believe that there is only one true timeline, making the rest of you all virtual realities. Right?"

"As you say, but if that's the case, it is you who are virtual, for I know I am the real Chakotay," someone interjected.

"How would we know if we are virtual or not?" another added more seriously.

Captain Chakotay smiled. Indeed, he had been thinking along the same thoughts. "I guess it's true we're all thinking the same thing. The principal timeline hypothesis. That would mean six of us are indeed from virtual realities. But I've been known to be wrong, occasionally."

The Maquis Chakotay nodded. "As have I." The others had already formed a circle in the center of the room, and he finally joined the group. "Hearing each others stories should be interesting, as you say."

"Let's hear from those of us who haven't yet spoken," Commander Chakotay in the timeline where Seven was killed said.

"Perhaps instead, we should recap what has already been said," the Maquis Chakotay said. "I awoke when you three were already talking and I'd like to get the full picture."

"I'll begin," Captain Chakotay said. "In my timeline, about two years ago, _Voyager_ discovered and used a Borg transwarp conduit to reach home. Admiral Janeway and the rest of the crew are now scattered about the alpha quadrant in various new jobs and _Voyager_ has a new crew and embarked on a new mission almost a year ago. As you can imagine, there have been a number of changes." He paused. Where to begin? "Harry is no longer an ensign," he said with a smile. "He's actually a lieutenant and first officer on the _Lexington_. Tom and B'Elanna have leadership positions at Utopia Panitia, although I plan to lure them away in the near future." He paused again. He couldn't very well list the current assignments of the entire former crew of _Voyager_. What was most important to him now? That was easy. "Perhaps most significantly," he continued, "I'm married to Seven, or Annika Hansen, and we've just had our first daughter. She's a lieutenant in Starfleet and my science officer aboard the _Sacagewea_. I just received the commission and am currently filling out the rest of my bridge staff before embarking on our first deep space mission."

"In my timeline," Commander Chakotay picked up, "we never found that Borg transwarp conduit, and so our timelines must have diverged about two years ago. It's been an eventful two years, although I suppose that's not much different than the first seven years of our voyage back home. Harry, I'm afraid, is still just an ensign. And I would whole heartedly agree that the most significant event in the past two years as far as I'm concerned is that I'm also married to Seven. For about a year now, although we have no children. Our marriage, however, stirred things up a bit on _Voyager_. I think the general consensus amongst the crew is that we'll be in the delta quadrant for some time still. Lieutenants Carey and Blalock were married and recently had twins, and Ensign Jenny Dehlaney is pregnant and married to Lieutenant Ayala. There are a lot of other couples as well. The whole feel of the ship and crew are vastly different now than just two years ago. We're still making our way to the alpha quadrant, and with the daily communication with Starfleet, we don't feel as alone."

The other Commander Chakotay interrupted. "You are in communication with Starfleet?"

"Yes. We found a communication network used by a species called the Hirogen and used it to transfer the Doctor's program for a time to a Federation ship in the alpha quadrant. Starfleet became aware we hadn't been destroyed in the Badlands, they initiated Project Pathfinder at headquarters to establish communication with us, and succeeded about three years ago. Eventually, we were able to get a daily communication feed based on the alignment of the singularity to the Midas array."

The other Commander Chakotay frowned. "These events never happened in my timeline."

"Perhaps I should go next then," one of the newcomers spoke up. "My timeline is very similar to yours." He gestured to the Commander Chakotay married to Seven who had spoken earlier. "In my timeline, however, I'm not married to Seven, although Seven is alive and well and continues to work in Astrometrics quite… efficiently. Carey and Blalock are also together, as is Ayala and Dehlaney. However, I'm married to Kellin."

"Who's Kellin?" Captain Chakotay asked.

"She's a Ramuran, a species from the delta quadrant, and she joined our crew about five years ago. She was a bounty hunter of sorts who tracked a fugitive to _Voyager_. We became close, and… Well, to make a long story short, she decided to ask for asylum on _Voyager_ herself. Captain Janeway agreed, and we've been protecting her ever since. We're still in the delta quadrant, although we too have established communication with Starfleet."

Captain Chakotay turned to others in the circle and was met with blank expressions and then back to the new Commander Chakotay. "Fascinating, I don't believe this Kellin ever came aboard _Voyager_ in our timelines."

The new Commander Chakotay was thoughtful. "Perhaps she did. Her species has a unique quality about their biology. They emit a pheromone which blocks memory cells and repulses scans. Other species can't form long term memories of them. It was actually quite a nuisance for a time as others on _Voyager_ would forget who she was if they didn't see her for a week. Fortunately Kellin worked with the Doctor and discovered a way to nullify the effect. She has been a valuable addition to the crew. We had a few close calls. Other tracers have continued to try and capture her, but we've successfully fought them off, and indeed, haven't had an incident in the past two years."

"Surely her presence would have been recorded by the ship's sensors if she had visited our _Voyager_," Captain Chakotay said incredulously. "A holoimage, a transporter trace, a recording… something."

"Once a tracer obtains their target, they release a computer virus that erases all evidence of their presence in the ship's systems."

The others looked at him skeptically. "Anyone else here know of Kellin in their timeline?"

Each of the Chakotays around the little circle looked from face to face, but no one else knew of Kellin. "Since we haven't been treated, will we now forget this conversation with you?" the Maquis Chakotay asked sarcastically. "I don't imagine I'm being exposed to her pheremones right now."

Chakotay remained silent. It did sound unbelievable, and he could imagine being skeptical himself if he was in their place. He knew first hand, however, of the mind erasing effects of the Ramuran weapons.

After a silence, as the remaining Chakotay's wondered who should go next, Chakotay from Quarra spoke up. "I have absolutely no memory of any of these events or most of the people you speak of. Kellin, or any Ramuran. The Doctor. B'Elana. Harry. I don't know any of them. However, if Carey is Joe Carey, then I do know him. He and his wife Natalie both work in the energy plant where I work."

Captain Chakotay looked somber. "Joe died in my timeline. I've lost track of Natalie Blalock. I never even knew they were interested in each other."

"I don't get it," the Chakotay from Quarra said. "How can we know all the same people, even be married to the same Annika Hansen, and yet my timeline is completely different than all of yours?"

Captain Chakotay and some of the others exchanged looks.

How to break the news? "Because in our timelines," one in the group said, deciding to be blunt, "the crew of _Voyager_ was rescued from Quarra. Your memories, and all the memories of the _Voyager_ crew have been altered."

"That's absurd," Chakotay from Quarra replied, but then more tentatively, "I remember a childhood. My father Kolpack. I got this tattoo to honor him. Is that not the same for all of you as well?"

Everyone in the circle nodded in agreement.

"Is it possible to manipulate memories so precisely?" he concluded.

"Not by us," Captain Chakotay replied. "Not yet, anyway. But the Quarron doctor, I forgot his name."

"I believe it was Kaden," someone else offered.

"Yes, that's it. Kaden apparently found a way. It was very selective and sophisticated. Some memories were suppressed, some were altered, and some new memories were added."

"I know Doctor Kaden. He was Annika and my attending physician." His voice trailed off. Was it possible he was living a lie with altered memories? It seemed too incredible.

"What of the other three?" someone asked. Everyone turned to the three who had not yet spoken.

The Chakotay in civilian dress spoke first. "I haven't seen _Voyager_ or any of the crew for the past seven years. Kathryn and I have been marooned on New Earth. Did any of you in your timelines get infected with a virus by an insect and only the planet's unique environment was able to keep you alive?"

A few nodded their heads. Captain Chakotay said, "Tuvok and the rest of the crew disobeyed orders and contacted the Vidiians who knew of a cure. The Doctor was able to secure the antidote from his friend Denara Pel."

"We've had some brushes with the Vidiians, but that was in the months just after our arrival. We've explored our entire world. Made maps and cataloged much of the flora and fauna. We are alone and isolated."

"As I recall," Commander Chakotay said, "I was quite excited about exploring New Earth, and really establishing roots there. How has it turned out for you?"

"Don't get me wrong. We've built ourselves a wonderful life on New Earth and Kathryn and I are very close." He thought for a moment, and then added, "Close, but there are certain boundaries we've chosen not to cross. It's only… well, we wondered what sort of future we would be giving our children if we had chosen that path?"

Captain Chakotay and the Commander Chakotay married to Seven exchanged a quick glance with raised eyebrows. Indeed, both of them had also been stranded on New Earth with Kathryn Janeway, and both of them had also felt excitement about the possibility of staying and building a life there. Given their current circumstances, however, how lucky they had been that their Tuvok had disobeyed Captain Janeway's order and contacted the Vidiians. Perhaps this Chakotay's Tuvok had also contacted the Vidiians, but was unsuccessful in obtaining the antidote, or perhaps even _Voyager_'s crew had been captured and harvested for their organs and body parts. That thought sent a shiver down Captain Chakotay's spine.

"I remember New Earth as well with _Voyager_ returning for us after obtaining the antidote," the Commander Chakotay who hadn't yet spoken to the group stated. "And I do remember meeting Seven of Nine briefly. As for Quarra and Ramorans, however, these events did not occur in my timeline."

"What happened after Seven of Nine was killed when the cargo bay doors were opened?" Captain Chakotay inquired.

Commander Chakotay frowned. "Our alliance with the Borg collapsed, and so we retreated to get out of the crossfire between the Borg and Species 8472. Kes then transformed, or whatever that was, and sent us a good ways past the Borg."

"Did Species 8472 completely destroy the Borg?"

Commander Chakotay shook his head. "We do still infrequently encounter the Borg. We give them a wide berth, and the Borg don't seem to be too interested in us anyway." He looked around at the others in the group, as if looking for an answer to an unasked question. "It's been hard, these past few years…on the Captain, and on the crew. She is holding on to a great deal of guilt, and our friendship has been strained since that incident with the Borg, and so…"

Captain Chakotay nodded in understanding. Something similar had happened in his timeline during a time when _Voyager_ traversed a void where the starlight was completely shrouded. Fortunately, Captain Janeway's and the crew's malaise was not as long-lived as in this other timeline. He noticed the others also looking at each other to see if there was a similar recognition.

"Well, I suppose, that just leaves me," the Maquis officer said after a short time. "I seem to be the odd man out. We are in the delta quadrant, as most of you still are, but _Voyager_ is long gone. It was destroyed at the Caretaker's array in our battle with the Kazon, and most of her crew was killed, including Captain Janeway."

The others remained silent, and the Maquis Chakotay nodded somberly.

"The few who survived joined my ship, the _Val Jean_, and we've been attempting to make our way back to the alpha quadrant, in much the same way it appears that the rest of you have done on _Voyager_. I must admit," he added, now looking at the Commander Chakotay who just spoke, "it's also getting more and more difficult for us to keep our morale up."

"Who?" Captain Chakotay asked in a whisper. How very different this Chakotay's timeline was. How many of his friends were no longer alive?

The Maquis Chakotay understood. As he had been listening to the others stories, and hearing of the different alternatives, he had relived the loss of all those friends from years before.

"From _Voyager_ who survived? Tom Paris. Harry Kim. About a dozen in all."

That would mean over a hundred _Voyager_ crewmembers had died. Captain Chakotay reeled at the thought.

"It's been pretty crowded on my small ship, but we have picked up a few additional crew members along the way. For example, Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix One."

"Seven?" two of the other Chakotays said in unison, stunned at the revelation.

"Indeed. A bit surprising to me as well, as I listened to your stories. She's my first officer."

"Are you…" Captain Chakotay began, but the Maquis Chakotay interrupted with a shake of his head.

"No," he said wistfully, the gears in his head turning. "She's been severed from the Collective for about three years now. We rescued her when we encountered a badly damaged cube, the result of the Borg's interaction with this Species 8472. We've avoided all contact with their bioships given Seven of Nine's warning. We removed some of her Borg implants, but quite honestly we just don't have the medical expertise to remove them all. We haven't encountered the Borg for years."

"You made her your first officer?"

"She is by far my most capable officer, and also my most trustworthy. It's taken a little time for the crew to get used to, but for one reason or another, she is totally dedicated to the crew and our mission." He thought some more, and then added more tentatively, "and me."

"What are we doing here anyway?" the Chakotay from Quarra suddenly asked. "This is fascinating and all, but I'm quite happy right where I am with Annika on Quarra. I've convinced myself this is all just a bad dream, but I've been trying to wake myself up now for several minutes, and I can't."

The Chakotay from New Earth closed his eyes and then shook his head. "This doesn't feel like a dream."

"I agree," Captain Chakotay said. "I've been too busy trying to figure out who you are to have noticed, but there is a definite quality to this that is more than a dream. More than even a vision quest."

The center of the room now was brightly lit, making it impossible to distinguish the walls outside the cone of light. Were the walls even there?

"I'm getting concerned. How do we end this?"

"Don't panic, I'm certain whatever is causing this vision will come to a natural end."

"What if we're stuck here?"

"Where is here anyway?"

"While we're here, are we absent from our own timeline?"

"You mean physically gone? I wouldn't think so."

"Annika!"

#

"Chakotay, wake up!" Seven shouted, and shook her husband by the shoulders. Chakotay gasped. He opened his eyes and sat up, turning his head all about. He eventually discovered his daughter's bassinet, right where it should be next to the bed, and Ixchel miraculously still asleep. He then turned to his wife, a feeling of relief washing over him.

"What a nightmare," he finally said, and sat up more so he could get a better look at Seven, his Seven, who was also sitting up in bed looking concerned.

"You called out my name," she stated.

"I was having a bad dream," Chakotay said. "I think it was a dream," he added more tentatively. He then described in detail the events that had transpired in his dream with the six other manifestations of himself.

Seven looked contemplative after Chakotay had finished. "The Borg spent some time investigating the notion of multiple timelines," she finally said. "In fact, the research resulted after several attempts at time travel by Borg vessels to adjust the timeline were conducted."

Chakotay was thunderstruck. Even after knowing Seven intimately for the past two years, there was still much he didn't know about her past. "Incredible, does Starfleet know of this?"

"I told them what I know. Starfleet's debriefing of me, as you recall, took several weeks. And I did have to hand over all the Borg data nodes we had salvaged. The information is recorded there as well."

"Fascinating. What were the results of the Borg research?"

"In all cases, the Borg ships sent did not return. It was concluded that they were either unsuccessful in changing the timeline or they were successful but the changes were not realized in the original universe. In the end, further time travel was suspended. The results of the Borg research before the program was terminated, however, concluded that the universe is actually a collection of universes, or a multiverse if you like. The notion of an infinite number of universes with their own unique timeline, however, was determined to be impossible."

Chakotay became uncomfortable. "I suspect the notion of a single universe and timeline was deemed impossible as well?"

"Precisely. To elaborate on a metaphor popularized by a 23rd century philosopher who speculated on the subject, time is fluid, like a river, with currents, eddies, backwash. Although there might be many channels in the river, some that diverge greatly from the main flow, there is a main channel and eventually all universes with their unique timelines in the greater multiverse return to this path."

"So how many different universes are possible?"

"It's hard to say. I'm not aware of any research to ascertain that value. More than one, but not infinite. Hundreds. Perhaps millions. Perhaps millions of millions."

Chakotay became silent and looked intently at his sleeping daughter. "To think, in many of those timelines, Ixchel might not exist. We might not even be together." His voice caught on this last word.

Seven placed a comforting hand on Chakotay's shoulder. "If we are to assume this dream of yours is actually a random sampling of available universes within the greater multiverse, in over half of those represented, you and I indeed end up together, in sometimes very different circumstances. It occurs to me that this implies our relationship is in the 'main channel' of timelines, so to speak."

Chakotay brightened. Another thought that had been troubling him seemed to also resolve itself. "Indeed. Perhaps last year's … incident, was necessary in this particular universe to bring the timeline back to the main channel." Of course the 'incident" he referred to was the temporal incursion created by the arrival of the Admiral Janeway from the future in their timeline while _Voyager_ was stranded in the Delta quadrant. Chakotay had this nagging fear that a 29th century time ship, similar to the one Seven confided with him about when she told him the story of the temporal weapon that had been planted on _Voyager_ by a disgruntled Captain Braxton, would come and further adjust the timeline. For all he knew, they may have already tried. Fortunately, his universe, the timeline that mattered to the individual consciousness called Chakotay that defined who he was, remained.

Chakotay turned to Seven and hugged her again. "Thank the gods we're in this universe together, and the timeline is progressing the way it has. I truly am lucky. I feel a little sorry for those three Chakotays who are not with their universe's Seven of Nine in their timelines."

"I do not believe in luck, but I too consider myself fortunate." Seven smiled mischievously and added, "but don't feel too sorry for those other Chakotays."

"What do you mean?"

"I can only imagine our counterparts in these other universes are resourceful and as driven as we are to be together. And if the timelines in these universes indeed flow back to the main channel despite various diversions, perhaps each of their universes are working to bring them together. I suspect a Borg Cube from Unimatrix One might crash on New Earth at some point and a certain drone might be rescued by a certain ex-Maquis Starfleet officer. Indeed, this Kellin in the other timeline might be recaptured by her species leaving a certain first officer needing comfort from a certain crew member who works in astrometrics."

Chakotay nodded satisfactorily. "That's true. I guess that just leaves the poor fellow in the timeline where Seven of Nine was killed."

Seven gave Chakotay a wink before lying back down. "Don't be so sure. Borg drones have been known to survive for months, preserved in the vacuum of space and sustained by their implants. If that Seven of Nine was picked up by another Borg vessel, perhaps even now she is finding her way back to _Voyager_ to exact her 'revenge' on a certain commander."

"Oh?"

"Who knows what might happen?" Seven suggested and tugged Chakotay back down beside her. She was still weak from the difficult birth a month before, but getting better and stronger each day. "I think the union of Chakotay, ex-renegade, current captain in Starfleet and husband, and Seven of Nine, ex-Borg drone, science officer and wife, is in the deepest channel of Time's River."

"No doubt," Chakotay sighed, forgetting all about other universes with their different timelines to revel in his own place in the multiverse.

#

THE END

10


End file.
